Jason Aldean, who famously railed against crime in his song “Try It in a Small Town,” joined convicted felon Donald Trump on the former president's stage at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night.
Aldean, wearing a gray T-shirt and a white hat emblazoned with the American flag, sat to Trump’s right, wearing a dark suit and red tie. Also in attendance was the country singer’s wife, Brittany Aldean, who marketed Free Trump merchandise after the 45th president was convicted in May of falsifying 34 business records. Aldean has become Trump’s golfing buddy and has posted photos of the two of them on the course together.
Trump survived an assassination attempt Saturday at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that left one attendee dead. (The shooter, a 20-year-old Pennsylvania resident, was killed.) Shortly after the shooting, which struck Trump in the right ear, Aldean dedicated a performance of “Try That in a Small Town” to the Republican presidential nominee at a concert in Holmdel, New Jersey.
“President Trump is a friend of mine, so I want to send this next song to him,” Aldean said. “We all know what’s going to happen in November, so it’s all good. It shows you that there’s a lot of shit in the world, and that’s the kind of song this is about. So this song is for the president.”
Aldean’s appearance at this year’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee was one of the few country artists to make an appearance this week. “God Bless the USA” singer and Bible salesman Lee Greenwood also appeared on stage at the convention, as did Chris Janson, who at the 2016 Republican National Convention reworked a song he co-wrote, “Truck Yeah,” into “Trump Yeah.” Sixwire, a Nashville band of professional musicians who are frequently chosen to perform on television, was the powerful headline band at the convention.
Rapper Kid Rock, known for his rock music, is scheduled to perform Thursday night, and professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, who introduced Aldean on a Florida stop on his Rock the Country tour, also spoke at the Republican National Convention.
Aldean is currently on his Highway Desperado tour and was one of several Nashville stars to speak out about the Trump rally shooting last weekend. Luke Bryan sparked chants of “USA” during a show in Cincinnati, while John Rich stirred up conspiracy theories. Texas country singer Cody Johnson rose to the occasion, denouncing hate and division and urging Americans to vote.
